This invention relates to the processing of textile materials, in particular the jet texturing of filament and/or staple products. Such processing includes the false twisting of textile filament yarns, intermingling of multifilament yarns, the co-mingling of two or more filament yarns, the combining of filament and staple yarns and the twisting of staple products, i.e. yarn, sliver or roving.
It has been proposed to apply a false twist to a textile filament yarn by passing the yarn through a texturing jet in which a jet or jets of air are directed onto the travelling yarn offset from its axis to impart a twisting torque to the yarn. The twist levels achievable by this method are very low by comparison with those achieved by the use of friction discs, belts and the like, hence the limited use commercially. The diameter of a textile yarn is relatively small, for example 0.2 mm for 150 Denier, and in consequence the tolerances on jet manufacture are extremely tight if satisfactory processing is to be achieved and consistency of performance from jet to jet. From a production costs point of view it is desirable to increase the yarn processing speed as much as possible. However, a limit on such speed is the surge speed, the speed at which satisfactory processing breaks down due to the long uncontrolled lengths of yarn in the large machines required for economic production.
It is also known to process one or more multifilament textile yarns by passing the yarn or yarns through a jet device in which a jet or jets of air are directed transversely of the travelling yarn or yarns to agitate the filaments or the fibres of the yarns. Such agitation may cause uniform texturing or intermittent texturing, i.e. intermingling or co-mingling. When intermittent, nips are produced in the yarn or yarns at spaced intervals. Since such jets rely on air turbulence, the degree of texturing or of nip spacing along the yarn is in consequence random. Whilst the average degree of texturing or nip production per unit length of yarn processed by such known jets may be satisfactory for certain textile applications, there are often long lengths of yarn produced having no texture or nips. These lengths of yarn, when used in knitted or woven fabrics, manifest themselves as unsatisfactory regions in the fabric.
Furthermore, it is also known to apply a twist to a textile staple product to give the product satisfactory coherence by passing the product through a twisting jet in which a jet or jets of air are directed onto the travelling product offset from its axis to impart a twisting torque to the product. The diameter of a textile product is relatively small, for example 0.6 mm for a 24 s Nec (English cotton count) yarn, and in consequence the tolerances on jet manufacture are extremely tight if satisfactory processing is to be achieved and consistency of performance from jet to jet.
Typically a textile machine for performing any of the above processes can have over 200 processing stations, i.e. over 200 yarns are processed simultaneously in parallel threadlines. This means that the machines are very large, which leads to problems of ergonomics. Furthermore, the provision of tight tolerance jets and high pressure air to such jets is expensive and such machines are very noisy, particularly when one or more doors of jet boxes are open for threading purposes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of processing textile materials, which overcomes, at least to a substantial extent, the above-mentioned disadvantages of known processing methods. It is also an object of the invention to enable the size of a machine for performing any one of the above mentioned processes to be reduced by a significant amount. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of texturing a textile filament yarn that increases twist levels that can be achieved, increases the surge speed during false twisting or produces more regular texturing along the length of the yarn. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of applying a twist to a textile staple product during the staple drawing process which increases twist levels that can be achieved or allows an increase of processing speed for the same twist level.
The invention provides a method of processing textile material comprising passing the material along a predetermined path through a liquid jet device applying a force to the material transversely to the axis thereof. The force may be a rotational force.
The invention also provides a method for producing textured textile materials, in which the material is textured by the above method and is cooled. The material may be cooled by the liquid jet device. The material may be heated prior to being cooled and textured, and may then be wound up. The material may be drawn prior to being cooled and textured. The method may also comprise applying a forwarding force or a retarding force to the material. The method may comprise applying at least one jet of liquid to the surface of the material transversely to the axis thereof. The method may comprise applying the at least one jet of liquid with components of velocity both axially of and transversely to the material path through the jet device. The method may comprise applying a plurality of jets of liquid disposed about the axis of the material path through the jet device. Preferably the liquid is water and may be cold water. The supply of water may be pulsed. The method may also comprise passing the material successively through a plurality of liquid jet devices. Consecutive jet devices may apply rotational forces to the material in the same or in opposite directions.
The material may be cooled in a cooling zone by immersion in a cooling liquid, in which case the cooling liquid may be moved in contraflow to the material passing through the cooling zone. The cooling zone and the liquid jet device may be contiguous. The cooling liquid may be the liquid of the jet device. The process may comprise heating the material by vapour, which may be superheated steam.
The invention also provides a method for applying a false twist to a filament yarn, in which the false twist is applied to the yarn by the above method and the yarn is cooled. The yarn may be heated prior to being cooled and twisted, and may then be wound up. The yarn may be passed through a twist trap, a heating zone, a cooling zone and the liquid jet device, being twisted by the latter so that the twist runs back to the twist trap, and then wound up. The yarn may be heated as far upstream as the twist trap. The yarn may be heated prior to passing through the twist trap and not further heated between the twist trap and the liquid jet device. The yarn may be drawn prior to being cooled and twisted. The yarn may be post treated prior to it being wound up. In this case the yarn may be passed with controlled overfeed through further heating apparatus. The further heating apparatus may comprise vapour heating, which may be superheated steam.
The method may comprise controlling the material by a feedback arrangement. In this case a property of the material may be measured and the measurement used to control the material processing. The measurement may be used to control the liquid jet device, a speed of the material or a heating step.
The material may be a continuous filament yarn and the method may comprise drawing the yarn to form a partially oriented yarn. Alternatively the material may be a plurality of yarns that are combined to form a single coherent yarn. One of the yarns may be a staple yarn.
The invention may also comprise apparatus for processing a textile material comprising a liquid jet device adapted to apply a force to a textile material transversely to the axis of the material as the material travels along a predetermined path through the jet device. The force may be a rotational force.
The apparatus may comprise cooling apparatus. The cooling apparatus may be a fluid cooling apparatus in which the material passes through a fluid to be cooled by heat transfer thereto.
The cooling apparatus may comprise a cooling chamber with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet for cooling fluid to be passed therethrough, and a material inlet and material outlet. The cooling fluid may be passed contraflow relative to the material. The cooling chamber may comprise seals against escape of cooling fluid at the material inlet and the material outlet. The seals may be labyrinth seals and may be pressurised. The seals may be gas pressurised, and may be pressurised by compressed air. The cooling fluid may be a liquid and may be water. The flow of liquid through the cooling chamber may be arranged to be turbulent. The liquid jet device and the cooling apparatus may have a common liquid. Alternatively, the cooling apparatus may comprise the liquid jet device.
The apparatus may also comprise heating apparatus, which may be disposed upstream of the cooling apparatus. The apparatus may comprise winding apparatus disposed downstream of the liquid jet device. The apparatus may also comprise drawing means, which may be disposed upstream of the cooling apparatus. The heating apparatus, cooling apparatus and liquid jet device may be mounted in a common housing.
The liquid jet device may be adapted to apply a force to the travelling material along the axis of the material, i.e. a forwarding force or a retarding force. The jet device may apply at least one jet of liquid to the surface of the material transversely to the axis thereof, and the at least one jet of liquid may be offset from the axis of the material. The at least one jet of liquid may be directed to have velocity components both along and laterally of the material path through the jet device. A plurality of jets may be disposed about the material path through the jet device, preferably symmetrically. Three such jets may be provided. The liquid jet device may comprise a housing having an axial bore terminating in a material constricting outlet, the axis of the bore defining a material path therethrough, with at least one liquid flow channel aimed towards the outlet and offset from the axis. The liquid jet device may comprise a seal in the housing against liquid escape along the material path. The seal may be a labyrinth seal and may be pressurised. The seal may be gas pressurised, and may be pressurised by compressed air. Preferably the liquid jet device comprises a water jet device. A plurality of liquid jet devices may be disposed successively along the material path, and the plurality of jet devices may be provided in a common housing. Three such jet devices may be so provided. Consecutive liquid jet devices may be adapted to apply rotational forces to the product in the same or in opposite directions.
The heating apparatus may comprise a vapour heating apparatus. The vapour may be superheated steam. The heating apparatus may comprise a housing having seals against escape of steam at a material inlet and at a material outlet thereof. The seals may be labyrinth seals and may be pressurised. The seals may be gas pressurised, and may be pressurised by compressed air or by superheated steam. The heating apparatus, the cooling apparatus and the liquid jet device may be disposed in a common housing.
The apparatus may also comprise treatment means operable to post treat the yarn. In this case, the apparatus may comprise feed means operable to pass the yarn with controlled overfeed through a further heating apparatus. The further heating apparatus may be a vapour heating apparatus. The heating apparatus and the further heating apparatus may use the same vapour in sequence.
The apparatus may comprise a feedback arrangement operable to control the material processing. The feedback arrangement may comprise a measuring instrument operable to measure a property of the material and produce a signal proportional to the measurement, and control means operable in response to the signal to control the material processing. The control means may be operable to control the liquid jet device, a speed of the material and/or a heating step.
The jet device may be arranged in a filament spinning apparatus, and may be arranged in the path of a plurality of yarns. The jet device may be disposed downstream of a further cooling arrangement. The further cooling arrangement may be a fluid cooling arrangement in which the material passes through a fluid to be cooled by heat transfer thereto.